Al Fin: "Cowboy Commentary", aka "Eat your veggies" The Flag banner is posted in order to defy those who would make patriotic symbols illegal or disreputable.
Saturday, February 11, 2012
GOP Candidates at CPAC
Gingrich
Comment: This is the usual type of things I've heard from Newt. It is good and polished.
Santorum:
Comment: He can use a little something in his presentation. The content was okay, but the presentation was a bit slow in coming. He finished strongly, but started slowly.
Romney
Comment: Romney speaks well, but that is not his problem. Credibility is. His use of the word "severe" with respect to conservatism was not well chosen.
Comment: This is the usual type of things I've heard from Newt. It is good and polished.
Santorum:
Comment: He can use a little something in his presentation. The content was okay, but the presentation was a bit slow in coming. He finished strongly, but started slowly.
Romney
Comment: Romney speaks well, but that is not his problem. Credibility is. His use of the word "severe" with respect to conservatism was not well chosen.
Cheat You Fair: Kudlow: A King Dollar GOP?
Cheat You Fair: Kudlow: A King Dollar GOP?: A Voice of Sanity - RobertRinger.com excerpts: Out on the campaign trail, Fed head Ben Bernanke is an unpopular guy. After watching the ...
Ann Coulter still pushes Romney
h/t Alex Alvarez | 1:47 pm, February 10th, 2012
The difference between Romney and Obama is the difference between a thousand paper cuts and a gunshot to the head. Neither get you out of your mess, so it becomes a matter of which path is the least painful. The answer to that question should be obvious.
It should come down to Santorum or Gingrich. One or the other should drop out soon so that the conservative wing of the party can coalesce. The longer this goes on, the longer the odds will be against either of them v Romney, while in the general election, we only get to choose our poison.
The difference between Romney and Obama is the difference between a thousand paper cuts and a gunshot to the head. Neither get you out of your mess, so it becomes a matter of which path is the least painful. The answer to that question should be obvious.
It should come down to Santorum or Gingrich. One or the other should drop out soon so that the conservative wing of the party can coalesce. The longer this goes on, the longer the odds will be against either of them v Romney, while in the general election, we only get to choose our poison.
Friday, February 10, 2012
Study: Distrust Of Government A Mental Disorder
Uploaded by MaoistRebelNews2 on Feb 6, 2012 h/t Breitbart
Comment: The Soviet Union was said to have insane asylums for the sane. Who'd a thunk that it could happen in America?
Is this study financed by the government? Oops!
Comment: The Soviet Union was said to have insane asylums for the sane. Who'd a thunk that it could happen in America?
Is this study financed by the government? Oops!
Wayne Hale: A Few Word About This Picture
blog
quote:
Comment:
Good 'ol common sense. Something that is really missing right now. A little empathy can go a long way, but everybody is out there banging their own drum like it is the only game in town.
quote:
If you want to get things done in this democracy, you have to build a political coalition that agrees with you. Standing on your soap box in the park railing against those who disagree with you may satisfy your ego but it will not get your program enacted. Reaching out to other folks who have different perspectives and interests than yours is exactly what the political system is all about.
Comment:
Good 'ol common sense. Something that is really missing right now. A little empathy can go a long way, but everybody is out there banging their own drum like it is the only game in town.
Kardashevian Aspirations: MIT suggests new physical model for condensed matt...
Kardashevian Aspirations: MIT suggests new physical model for condensed matt...: Free Republic There's a link to a pdf , if you're interested. From the comments, there's this excerpt: Abstract. Motivated by many ob...
Thursday, February 9, 2012
BI: FORGET JOBS: The 2012 Election Is About The Culture War
Michael Brendan Dougherty
excerpts:
excerpts:
If you can link up the issues of the economy and government overreach in the culture war, you may get a decisive decision at the polls in November. The government has too much power, is out of control, and this latest overreach is proof of it.
Update:
Does this mean that Obama has screwed the pooch on this issue?
excerpts:
- what gets Americans really fired up is the culture war
- the 9th Circuit Court overrule the popular referendum in California that banned gay marriage
- The nation and its media had a week-long freakout over a minuscule $700,000 grant from the Komen Foundation to Planned Parenthood.
- Obama Administration and the Catholic Church are in open conflict over whether religious institutions should be dragged into the bedroom to pay for their employees' contraceptives of choice
excerpts:
- But where Shields sees “cataclysmic” fallout, the White House sees something quite different: a chance to widen the reproductive health debate beyond abortion to issues like contraceptives, winning over key demographics of independent voters in the process.
- it may well be about the demographics that are most supportive of this particular health reform provision: young voters and women
- “If President Obama woos the vast majority [of his independent voters] back, he can be reelected.”
- when the conversation moves away from abortion to contraceptives - as it has this week - the intensity gap flips
- Boehner Vows to Block Abortifacient Mandate, Somehow ... "In order to spare women the costs of having to shell out twenty bucks once or twice a year (and that would be a lot, wouldn't it?), Obama's determined to run roughshod over religious liberties."
- Santorum wins big, has something changed?
If you can link up the issues of the economy and government overreach in the culture war, you may get a decisive decision at the polls in November. The government has too much power, is out of control, and this latest overreach is proof of it.
Update:
Does this mean that Obama has screwed the pooch on this issue?
Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Cheat You Fair: Machines trading with each other
Cheat You Fair: Machines trading with each other: Where's the people, asks Ann Barnhardt. The following screenshot is of a video sequence that says a thousand words. It is charting the t...
Sowell : A Defining Moment
A Voice of Sanity - RobertRinger.com
Thomas Sowell explains why Romney's gaffes are significant mistakes that should not be underestimated:
Thomas Sowell explains why Romney's gaffes are significant mistakes that should not be underestimated:
Governor Mitt Romney’s statement about not worrying about the poor has been treated as a gaffe in much of the media, and those in the Republican establishment who have been rushing toward endorsing his coronation as the GOP’s nominee for president...
Kardashevian Aspirations: Use of robotics in space
Kardashevian Aspirations: Use of robotics in space: I made a comment on Transterrestrial Musings a couple days ago about using robotics as a precursor to human settlement. The post was about...
Santorum wins big, has something changed?
Santorum is a compromise between Romney and Gingrich. There's no great love for Romney, and there's a bit of antipathy towards Newt. Santorum doesn't have as much baggage as the rest, according to Limbaugh.
But who's Santorum? Amongst the three, he may be the dark horse. According to the Wikipedia entry for dark horse, Abraham Lincoln was one, as well as James K. Polk. Both were successful presidencies.
Interesting that Pawlenty's endorsement didn't help Romney in Minnesota.
No delegates were chosen, though. Missouri's primary was a beauty contest. Does this mean that the victories were only moral victories?
But who's Santorum? Amongst the three, he may be the dark horse. According to the Wikipedia entry for dark horse, Abraham Lincoln was one, as well as James K. Polk. Both were successful presidencies.
Interesting that Pawlenty's endorsement didn't help Romney in Minnesota.
No delegates were chosen, though. Missouri's primary was a beauty contest. Does this mean that the victories were only moral victories?
Tuesday, February 7, 2012
Gizmag: SpaceX Dragon's ultimate mission is Mars colonization
Kardashevian Aspirations: SpaceX Dragon's ultimate mission is Mars colonizat...: gizmag.com h/t Transterrestrial Musings excerpts: Musk said that he wants to see 10,000 people living on Mars in the near future - pref...
Mixing politics with space doesn't appear to work. Just ask Gingrich. Kennedy didn't run on the proposal of a moon landing. The Apollo program came afterwards.
Perhaps the best you can hope for is that the government will stay out of the way.
Update:
Governments can grant charters- such as the Hudson Bay Company. That's the model that may work, if anybody cares to remember it.
Mixing politics with space doesn't appear to work. Just ask Gingrich. Kennedy didn't run on the proposal of a moon landing. The Apollo program came afterwards.
Perhaps the best you can hope for is that the government will stay out of the way.
Update:
Governments can grant charters- such as the Hudson Bay Company. That's the model that may work, if anybody cares to remember it.
Monday, February 6, 2012
Iran threatens to hit any country used to attack its soil
By Parisa Hafezi | Reuters – 15 hrs ago
excerpts:
A bad situation that doesn't promise to get better. It doesn't help when one's word is questionable.
excerpts:
- Iran's supreme clerical leader threatened reprisals for the West's new ban on Iranian oil exports
- Iran says its nuclear program is for civilian energy purposes. [ Comment: That is questionable since the thorium fuel cycle cannot be used to make bombs, but it can be used to make energy.]
- The United States and Israel, Iran's arch-enemies, have not ruled out a military strike on Tehran if diplomacy fails to resolve the nuclear stalemate. [Comment: It should be pointed out that the mullocracy is the enemy, not the people of Iran.]
- Turkey was the venue of the last talks between Western powers and Iran a year ago which ended in stalemate because participants could not even agree on an agenda.
- Tehran has warned several times it may seal off the Strait of Hormuz, throttling the supply of Gulf crude and gas, if attacked or if sanctions mean it cannot export its oil.
A bad situation that doesn't promise to get better. It doesn't help when one's word is questionable.
It's takers versus makers and these days the takers are winning
Glenn Harlan Reynolds | Columnists | Washington Examiner
excerpts:
That's why it isn't just class warfare to go after Romney. He's too immersed in the moocher type of thinking. I know, I know. Gingrich's critics will point out his work at Fannie Mae or what have you. But that is the pot calling the kettle black. Did Romney ever really create anything himself? Or was he just engaging in a bit of predatory capitalism? And now he's engaging in predatory politics. What's the difference between moocherism and what Romney did at Bain Capital?
Then it becomes a matter of us v them. Romney and his supporters are turning the election into a personality thing, which is an outgrowth of that type of thinking. Us, who favor capitalism- v them, who favor socialism.
Ronald Reagan once said that we are told that we have to choose between left or right, but the real choice is between tyranny and freedom.
Those who abuse power in order to gain advantage can come from both sides of the so-called political spectrum. They'll base their politics upon personalities. It will be us v them. Not tyranny v freedom.
excerpts:
- an important point of Sykes’ book is that moocher-culture isn’t limited to farmers or welfare queens
- If you spend $1 million on lobbying, and get a $1 billion subsidy from the government, that’s a thousand-fold return on your money
- as Margaret Thatcher once said, the problem with socialism is that sooner or later you run out of other people’s money
- A federal government that actually operated within the limits intended by the Framers would be much smaller, much less capable of creating economic distortion, and much less attractive to moochers and the politicians they enable.
- Which would require a president interested in appointing justices with such views.
That's why it isn't just class warfare to go after Romney. He's too immersed in the moocher type of thinking. I know, I know. Gingrich's critics will point out his work at Fannie Mae or what have you. But that is the pot calling the kettle black. Did Romney ever really create anything himself? Or was he just engaging in a bit of predatory capitalism? And now he's engaging in predatory politics. What's the difference between moocherism and what Romney did at Bain Capital?
Then it becomes a matter of us v them. Romney and his supporters are turning the election into a personality thing, which is an outgrowth of that type of thinking. Us, who favor capitalism- v them, who favor socialism.
Ronald Reagan once said that we are told that we have to choose between left or right, but the real choice is between tyranny and freedom.
Those who abuse power in order to gain advantage can come from both sides of the so-called political spectrum. They'll base their politics upon personalities. It will be us v them. Not tyranny v freedom.
Sunday, February 5, 2012
Abundance: A new book by Peter Diamandis and Steven Kolter
h/t EGO OUT INFORMAVORE
Changing the conversation from doom towards optimism about the future.
Update:
Just noticed that this is the 3000th post for the Boots and Oil blog.
Changing the conversation from doom towards optimism about the future.
Update:
Just noticed that this is the 3000th post for the Boots and Oil blog.
What's the big hurry?
I don't get all this anti-Newt rhetoric. What the hell is the big hurry in getting Romney nominated? I hope Newt stays in. Also, for no other reason than to insure that Romney doesn't get the nomination. Furthermore, I wouldn't be too sad to see a third party challenge to also insure that he doesn't win the presidency. So they are worried that the continuance of a Gingrich campaign would hurt Romney? Well, maybe Romney should have thought of that before he opened his mouth.
So Gingrich should be a good sport and go home now? So what if he stays in? It seems like they want to make this personal, but I don't think Gingrich has taken it personally. To the contrary, I think it is those who opposed Gingrich in the past who seemed to have taken it personally. They must be projecting their own hostility upon Gingrich. This interview on MSNBC doesn't look like a bitter man at all.
Gingrich needs to keep the pressure on Romney despite all the pressure on him to quit the race. Romney didn't deserve to win in the way that he won. Not because Romney is not nice, but because the way he did it was not good for the country. It was not good for the country to have Gingrich's proposals for space reduced to an object of ridicule.
You won't see me fall into line. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact.
I believe playing it safe will not win. It is a losing strategy. Too many want to play it safe with Romney. But that leaves you pretty much with what you already have. Therefore a Romney victory in November would not mean much. It is better to take some risks and go all out for a significant victory.
Update:
This was the news conference that some people seem to be criticizing. I can't see it.
So Gingrich should be a good sport and go home now? So what if he stays in? It seems like they want to make this personal, but I don't think Gingrich has taken it personally. To the contrary, I think it is those who opposed Gingrich in the past who seemed to have taken it personally. They must be projecting their own hostility upon Gingrich. This interview on MSNBC doesn't look like a bitter man at all.
Gingrich needs to keep the pressure on Romney despite all the pressure on him to quit the race. Romney didn't deserve to win in the way that he won. Not because Romney is not nice, but because the way he did it was not good for the country. It was not good for the country to have Gingrich's proposals for space reduced to an object of ridicule.
You won't see me fall into line. Quite the opposite, as a matter of fact.
I believe playing it safe will not win. It is a losing strategy. Too many want to play it safe with Romney. But that leaves you pretty much with what you already have. Therefore a Romney victory in November would not mean much. It is better to take some risks and go all out for a significant victory.
Update:
This was the news conference that some people seem to be criticizing. I can't see it.
Announcement: New Blog
The Boots and Oil Blog is just too big. It is getting close to 3000 posts. So, I have begun spinning off some new blogs. There are three blogs now. Boots and Oil, Kardashevian Aspirations, and now Cheat You Fair. The new blog will be mostly about markets and economics with a touch of irreverence.
The new blog will only have old posts spun off from this site. Eventually, it will be totally stand alone, as this blog becomes more of a political blog. Kardashevian Aspirations will also be a stand alone blog eventually. So, that's the plan, Stan.
I'm hopeful that this will useful to my readers. This blog covers so much ground that it may clutter up things a bit. If you are only interested in Energy and Space, you can go to that blog. Same principle with Cheat You Fair.
That way you don't have to skim through stuff that is only mildly interesting or not interesting at all.
The new blog will only have old posts spun off from this site. Eventually, it will be totally stand alone, as this blog becomes more of a political blog. Kardashevian Aspirations will also be a stand alone blog eventually. So, that's the plan, Stan.
I'm hopeful that this will useful to my readers. This blog covers so much ground that it may clutter up things a bit. If you are only interested in Energy and Space, you can go to that blog. Same principle with Cheat You Fair.
That way you don't have to skim through stuff that is only mildly interesting or not interesting at all.
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